Chapter 172: Patronus and Unexpected Death

After leaving the Great Hall, Ben Claire and Merula flew into the Forbidden Forest on broomsticks. Upon reaching the Forest Grove, though, they saw no signs of Jacob or 'R'. But when Claire noticed a necklace in a nearby bush, Merula grabbed her hand.

"Don't touch it!" Merula insisted. "That's one of Rakepick's Dark Artefacts, and it's cursed."

"How do you know that?" Claire asked.

"She showed it to me one time," replied Merula.

"Okay, but how did it get out here?" Ben wondered.

"Yeah, Dumbledore told me all of Rakepick's Dark Artefacts were confiscated by the Ministry," Claire recalled. "Maybe she stole them back — is it just me or did it get colder?"

Just then, several figures floated out of the mist from every side of the grove. They wore nothing but black robes that covered their entire bodies with the exception of their hands which were pale and bony.

"Dementors!" Ben exclaimed. "They're everywhere!"

"There's too many of them," Merula noted as she took out her wand.

While Ben used Flipendo Maxima, it didn't seem to stop the Dementors as they floated closer. So Claire pointed her wand at the nearest Dementor and said, "Expecto Patronum!"

From her wand appeared a transparent Unicorn that charged at the Dementor with its horn and destroyed it completely.

"Maybe my Patronus can hold them back," Merula murmured. "Expecto Patronum!"

Instead of an animal, Merula's wand produced a transparent energy beam that sent the Dementor that was closest to her flying back though it wasn't destroyed. Meanwhile, Ben kept throwing every spell he knew at each Dementor that came his way though none of them seemed to work.

"It's no use," Claire said after casting her Patronus several times. "My Patronus isn't powerful enough to stop all of them."

"And when one is destroyed, another takes its place," Ben added.

"So what do we do?" Merula asked.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Suddenly, a transparent lioness appeared and roared at the Dementors which vaporized all of them. Then as the lioness vanished, Rakepick appeared in its place.

"YOU!" Merula immediately cast Flipendo Maxima at Rakepick, who managed to cast Protego which lessened the blow.

Then Rakepick sent Merula flying backward, who struggled to get up.

"I will have…my revenge," Merula growled.

"Seems you're in a hurry to die, Miss Snyde," Rakepick noted. "But the truth is, you're not even worth killing."

"Why did you save us?" Claire demanded, keeping her wand steady.

"So I could kill you myself," Rakepick responded, pointing her wand at Claire. "It's time to finish what I started in the Buried Vault."

Rakepick then cast Bombarda, but Claire managed to block it using Protego. Yet Rakepick's spell was powerful enough to send Claire flying backward.

"This is the end for you, 'Curse-Breaker,'" Rakepick said mockingly.

"Flipendo Maxima!" Ben shouted.

Like before, Rakepick used Protego to block Flipendo Maxima.

"I won't let you hurt those I care about ever again!" Ben declared.

"Now you're talking like a real Gryffindor, Copper," Rakepick responded. "But can you back that talk up?"

From there, the two exchanged spells with Rakepick's hurting Ben despite his attempts at blocking her.

"Hold on, Ben," Claire said as she tried to get up despite the pain she was feeling. "I'll help."

"No," Ben insisted. "Let me handle Rakepick."

Rakepick snorted. "We'll see about that."

Then Rakepick sent Ben flying backward, causing him to flinch and grip his shoulder. But he got up and send Bombarda towards Rakepick, who blocked it with Protego.

"Run, Ben," Merula muttered.

"If you refuse to stay down, then let me help you meet your grave." Rakepick gritted her teeth and recited, "Avada Kedavra!"

From Rakepick's wand appeared a bright green light that shot toward Ben. But then in a split second, someone appeared in front of Ben and collapsed. As the light died down, everyone was able to see who it was.

"ROWAN!" Claire cried, seeing her first friend lying on the ground with a shocked expression.

"Khanna…" Merula's eyes widened.

While Ben was speechless, Rakepick chuckled. "While I certainly didn't expect that, I say this covers 'R''s debt to collect one of your friends' lives, Miss Krystal."

After Rakepick vanished, Claire Ben and Merula ran over to Rowan and knelt before her.

"She's not breathing," Claire noticed. "There's got to be a spell that can reverse this…anything…she can't be…"

"It's called the Killing Curse for a reason," Merula said after a pause. "I'm sorry, Krystal, but Khanna is dead."

As Claire cried over Rowan's body, Ben placed a hand on Claire's shoulder while Merula looked away to hide her own tears.

###

The following day, classes were cancelled as the Hogwarts students and staff gathered in the Great Hall. Once Dumbledore arrived, everyone fell silent.

"Last night, we suffered an unimaginable loss," Dumbledore began steadily. "Today we pay tribute to Rowan Khanna, a devoted student who sacrificed her life for a friend. In light of such a noble deed, we will not talk about Rowan Khanna's killer who will be brought to justice. Now let us come together as one community to grieve, remember, and honor Rowan.

"Grief…comes in many forms. It can be sadness, fear, anger, but none of them are wrong feelings. We must be kind and patient with one another, lest we forget that Rowan Khanna died a hero. Some of you may know that Rowan wanted to teach at Hogwarts after graduation by pursuing new knowledge and showing a love of learning. For this reason, I have suspended classes to give everyone time to grieve. Let us remember the soul of Rowan Khanna as being clever, brave, driven, and loyal."

Then Dumbledore and the Professors cast Lumos, causing the other students to do the same while raising their wands in the air.

Due to the never-ending length of the Hogwarts Mystery mobile app game, I've decided to create a sequel series titled Hogwarts Mystery Chronicles Part 2 which will have some of the chapters that used to be on this fanfic and future ones. Sorry if this creates any confusion, but I hope you continue to read this fanfic on its sequel series.